Work and living conditions worsen TB in minesThe reason mineworkers in Southern Africa are particularly vulnerable to TB is their exposure to multiple risk factors as a result of their jobs, their living... Show More + conditions, and their migrant lifestyles. Prolonged exposure to silica dust in often poorly ventilated deep mine shafts can cause silicosis, which increases the risk of pulmonary tuberculosis. Crowded dormitory-style living conditions and poor housing in informal settlements increase the risk of contracting the airborne disease. High rates of HIV also increase the likelihood of TB infection. And regular movements across borders provide a route for transmission of infections to families and communities in the workers’ home countries.Furthermore, treating TB among mineworkers is particularly difficult due to their regular migration as treatment must be taken continuously and uninterrupted to avoid developing multi-drug resistant TB. In addition, health systems in the affec Show Less -

With cities and towns in Africa growing at 5 percent a year —faster than anywhere else in the world -– water service providers face considerable challenges to meet growing demand. Many lack... Show More + the resources to do so. The current revenue flows of most also fall far short of requirements to fund investments and run services effectively for these rapidly growing populations, particularly the poor.Meeting the demand, especially in the rapidly expanding unserved poor settlements, requires new thinking and innovation. This is one reason why there has been a surge in interest among sub-Saharan African water service providers in prepaid water systems.When properly planned for and maintained, prepaid water systems can deliver multiple benefits to customers, according to a new study, The Limits and Possibilities of Prepaid Water in Urban Africa: Lessons from the Field. The study, from the World Bank Group’s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), explored the potential of prepaid water syst Show Less -

Besides Pakistan, the other countries participating in the program in the initial phase are Indonesia, Lesotho, Madagascar, Maldives, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia. A four-year budget... Show More + of $11.6 million has been allocated to the program, which is expected to expand further in response to client demand. For developing countries, increasing the share of energy powered by domestic, renewable sources is a critical component to improving energy security and access, strengthening the national fiscal outlook, and transitioning to a more sustainable energy sector. The new program will make funding available for high resolution mapping, ground-based data collection, geospatial analysis, and strategic environmental assessments. The work will be undertaken by World Bank operational units, acting in close consultation with client governments. “We expect this initiative to be highly catalytic,” said Oliver Knight, Senior Energy Specialist at ESMAP. “Resource ma Show Less -

Value Added through InnovationTo strengthen the quality and impact of these projects, and leverage investment and policy dialogue the World Bank brings innovative support in water resources management.For... Show More + example, in Lesotho, the World Bank through its Water Partnership Program (WPP) developed a Cultural Heritage Guidance Assessment at the catchment level to understand religious dimensions of rivers and water resources infrastructure. In southern Africa, large water resources infrastructure projects can be seen to affect divine associations with the river and impact associated cultural beliefs. This analysis is helping to enhance implementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM) and improve project results by reducing risks associated with potentially negative social impacts.The WPP has also supported efforts to integrate and understand the implications of climate change on planned investments in the Zambezi River basin. This work builds on the Multi- Sector Investment Opp Show Less -

The Minister also emphasized the need for a coordinated multisectoral action within and between countries to prevent the negative health consequences caused by tobacco use.Many African countries, including... Show More + the SADC-member countries, are experiencing the highest increase in the rate of tobacco use among developing countries. While cigarette consumption in Western Europe dropped by 26% between 1990 and 2009, it increased in Africa and the Middle East by 57% during the same period.This change reflects the impact of effective tobacco control legislation, policies, and measures adopted by many developed countries, as well as the increasing understanding of their populations about the health risks of smoking. As highlighted by WHO, tobacco use in any form is the single most preventable cause of death. In 2011, this global tobacco epidemic killed almost six million people, with nearly 80 percent of these deaths occurring in low-and middle-income countries. Worldwide, approximately 600,0 Show Less -

Rapid urbanization and climate change are reshaping and exacerbating disaster risk. Together, they have added urgency to the task of building resilience in communities and countries around the world.Climate... Show More + extremes that we could hardly imagine and cope with every 20 years are going to happen every two years in this century. This is the message of a sobering report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change about the dramatic climate extremes that are expected to increase around the world.Meeting on the margins of the World Bank/IMF spring meetings on April 20 to discuss the implications of the report for their work on building resilience, donors, developing countries and international organizations reaffirmed their commitment to making disaster resilience a priority in development planning. The group of leading officials also agreed that integrating disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into the development agenda is critical to building resilience in communiti Show Less -

December 9, 2011 - More than a dozen firms vied for contracts on a World Bank-financed transportation project. But that bidding competition largely turned out to be a sham. A Bank investigation revealed... Show More + evidence the contracts were steered to particular vendors in exchange for bribes, kickbacks and payments to designated losing bidders. Ultimately the case was escalated to an independent appeals body – the World Bank Group Sanctions Board. The result: seven firms and one individual were barred from World Bank contracts, two permanently – the strongest possible action.While a press release announced the debarments, virtually nothing was published then about the evidence or deliberations in the case – one of the most egregious that have come before the Sanctions Board – or in similar cases involving errant contractors. As the World Bank marks Anti-corruption Day on December 9, that’s about to change.Under new procedures promoting greater transparency and accountability, the Sanctions Boar Show Less -

Adds World Bank Climate Change Envoy Andrew Steer: "This Climate Change Knowledge Portal enables ministers, development institutions, and non-governmental organizations in developing countries to... Show More + see within minutes what’s going to happen 30 or 40 years from now, based on the best scientific modeling that exists in the world. It’s a great tool for opening up discussion on the issues."Opening Climate Data ‘Increasingly Critical’In the past, a wealth of raw data on climate has been under-used, often ending up as static PDFs or on specialists’ hard drives. The new Climate Portal aims to make it easier to access and use climate information from various sources, including the Bank’s open data catalogue."Opening climate data will encourage experts and innovators, wherever they may be, to come up with new tools for analyzing and managing the effects of climate change,” says Shaida Badiee, director of the Bank’s Development Data Group. “The combination of open data and innovative Show Less -

At a GlanceDuring the past few decades, women’s and girls’ education and health levels have improved greatly. More than 37 million girls have been enrolled in primary school since 1995, Since 1970,... Show More + average life expectancy for women increased by 15 to 20 years.But women’s economic opportunities are still limited.In low-income countries, women consistently trail men in formal labor force participation, access to credit, entrepreneurship rates, income levels, and inheritance and ownership rights.In low-income countries, the female labor force shrunk from 53 percent in 1980 to 49 percent in 2005, while men’s employment rate remained steady at 86 percent.Life’s chances should not be preordained at birth. This inequality is also bad economics: under-investing in women puts a brake on poverty reduction and limits economic and social development.Recent HighlightsThe World Bank launched Applying Gender Action Plan Lessons: A Three-Year Road Map for Gender Mainstreaming (2011- 2013), which Show Less -

On Friday, after more than a decade of health service reforms, infrastructure improvement and human resource capacity building, the government realized part of its goal with the opening of the state-of-the-art,... Show More + 425-bed, Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital in Maseru.Lesotho’s King His Majesty Letsie III inaugurated the new hospital, which is expected to bring improved health services to about one quarter of the country’s population.The public hospital features eight operating rooms, a maternity wing including 40-bed nursery, a 10-bed adult Intensive Care Unit, an opthomology unit, two Lamina flow theaters for joint replacement surgery and, most importantly, a well-trained, privately-managed cadre of health care professionals.“There will be a large focus on training at this new facility because of the more modern technology, but also because of the role that this hospital will play in the larger health care infrastructure within Lesotho,” said Karen Prins, Operations Director for the new h Show Less -

October 20, 2011 – How can researchers and farmers get accurate weather data in the high Andes, to gauge the effects of climate change? What is the best way for people in rapidly growing Kenyan cities... Show More + to report water service interruptions and hold providers accountable? Is there an easier and cheaper way for people in rural Uganda to pay their water bills?Solutions to these and other water problems could emerge over the next several days as tech experts brainstorm at “water hackathons” in 10 cities around the world.The World Bank and the Water and Sanitation Program are bringing together participants for the 48-hour sessions in collaboration with technology partners NASA, Google, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft and Yahoo.Computer programmers and designers will volunteer their time in Lima, Lagos, Kampala and Nairobi, among other cities. They will select from more than 70 problems submitted by subject-matter experts and other stakeholders, and begin to create applications for cell phon Show Less -

Joëlle Chassard, manager of the World Bank’s Carbon Finance Unit, said, “We emerge from this week of intense discussions encouraged and excited to know that carbon markets will continue to be a part of... Show More + the mosaic of climate finance, with new ideas and initiatives that should allow all countries to put market mechanisms to work to accelerate climate mitigation on a global level.”Andrew Steer, World Bank Special Envoy for Climate Change, reminded Expo participants of the close link between climate change and development.“Climate change threatens all that we are trying to achieve. We are not on track to solving the problem, and development progress is deeply threatened," he said. "But there will come a time, not long from now, when citizens will demand stronger action on climate change. It is crucially important that we are ready for this time."Blending of financial instrumentsDiscussions at this year’s Expo expanded well beyond the traditional focus on carbon markets to in Show Less -

April 12, 2011 – With a record 210 million people out-of-work worldwide and employers reporting too few workers to hire with the right skills, the World Bank Group today appealed to governments, donors,... Show More + community leaders, and employers to focus more on education that prepares young people for the jobs market with the right skills rather than emphasizes the number of years they spend in school. Launching its education strategy for the next decade, the Bank Group said that better learning for all students worldwide is vital because economic growth, better development, and significantly less poverty depend on the knowledge and skills that people gain, not the years spent in a classroom. According to the strategy, “While a diploma may open doors to employment, it is a worker‘s skills that determine his or her productivity and ability to adapt to new technologies and opportunities. Knowledge and skills also contribute to an individual’s ability to have a healthy, fulfilling Show Less -

April 6, 2011 – The problem of fragile states and conflict-affected countries is a key theme of the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings on April 15-17, as the World Bank Group looks for ways to improve assistance... Show More + to countries under stress and to accelerate progress on major development goals.Several events will address conflict and fragility over the next two weeks:World Bank President Robert Zoellick’s April 6 speech, “A New Social Contract for Development,” on recent instability in the Middle East and North Africa and lessons for developmentReport by the Bank’s Latin America and Caribbean region on crime and violence in Central America, released April 7April 11 release of the 2011 World Development Report (WDR), which focuses on conflict, security and developmentWebcast on World Bank Live: WDR-related event April 14 on political transitions, citizen security, justice and jobsApril 15 event on private sector growth and job creation in fragile environmentsApril 15 release of the Global Moni Show Less -

In November 2007, powerful Cyclone Sidr claimed the lives of thousands of people in Bangladesh and wiped out a lot of the country's rice crop. A year later, Bangladesh became the first country to put together... Show More + a multibillion dollar strategy on climate change, including a plan to boost agricultural production and food security in anticipation of more adverse weather.“If one country is aware and taking action, it's Bangladesh,” says Maria Sarraf, a senior environmental economist for the World Bank's South Asia region. “While other countries are projecting climate change, Bangladesh has already suffered from it.”Like Bangladesh, the majority of developing countries have economies grounded in agriculture. Globally, 75% of poor people live in rural areas and most depend on agriculture for their living. For this reason, agriculturally-based economic growth is two to four times more effective in reducing poverty than growth in other sectors. But, investment in agriculture and rural development Show Less -

Lesotho has been hit hard by the financial crisis. Revenue from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), which accounts for over 60 percent of the government’s revenue base, is declining, threatening... Show More + to exacerbate macroeconomic risks to the economy. Furthermore, loss of textile markets due to the slowdown in the United States and decline in diamond trade are posing new challenges.“Lesotho offers positive proof that development cooperation works,” said Minister of Finance and Development Planning Timothy Thahane. “We were pleased to host Ms. Ezekewsili and her team, and delighted to show the range of positive development results being achieved to grow Lesotho’s economy, create jobs, and improve health and the quality of life of the Basotho people.”Minister Thahane and Ezekwesili reviewed policy work covered by the World Bank, including developing alternate sources of revenue, increasing trade, and taking advantage of being close to Africa’s largest economy, South Africa. Key foc Show Less -

The US$20 million grant comes from EFA – FTI’s multi-donor trust fund and will be co-financed by Irish Aid. It will support the construction and refurbishment of over 300 classrooms that will be appropriately... Show More + designed to accommodate disabled children, provide gender-friendly latrines and support the operation of more than 100 reception classes. These activities will be matched with a supporting set of interventions to improve the overall quality of teaching and learning in Lesotho.The US$20 million is the second EFA-FTI grant allocated to Lesotho. The first grant – allocated in 2006 - was in the amount of US$11.9 million.Bob Prouty, head of the Education for All Fast Track Initiative Secretariat, said progress is being made in Lesotho but acknowledged the remaining challenges in the education sector. "Lesotho is trying to achieve education for all children, including the more vulnerable groups such as children with disabilities and HIV/Aids orphans. I also commend the progra Show Less -

The project benefits from collaboration within the World Bank Group and a strong partnership with the government of Lesotho. The World Bank provided technical assistance to the design and management of... Show More + the PPP as part of the Health Sector Reform Program.The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Bank’s private sector arm, acted as lead advisor to the government of Lesotho throughout the planning, structuring, tendering and implementation phases of the PPP agreement, including extensive due diligence to establish the project’s feasibility and to engage and secure the support of stakeholders locally, regionally and internationally.Jean Philippe Prosper, IFC Director for Eastern and Southern Africa said, “This pioneering project is the first public-private partnership in Africa's health sector that outsources the design, build and full operation of a hospital and all clinical services. It provides an innovative and sustainable model for governments and the private sector to collabor Show Less -